Cryogenic electronics power supply and power sink

A switching power supply comprising:

• a switching power supply circuit comprising at least one inductor winding composed of a high temperature superconducting material and a capacitor constructed at least in part of materials exhibiting low dielectric losses and high power densities at cryogenic temperatures,
• refrigeration means for cryogenically cooling at least said inductor winding of said circuit to a temperature wherein said inductor winding exhibits superconducting characteristics, and
• input/output means for supplying power to said circuit and receiving power from said circuit,
• said circuit providing at least one hundred watts of power.

A high performance circuit comprising:

• a plurality of circuit elements in a circuit configuration, said circuit elements including at least one inductor winding composed of a high temperature superconducting material and at least one of a MOSFET, bipolar IGFET, GTO, or other power device in circuit configuration with said inductor winding,
• means for cryogenically cooling all of said circuit elements to a temperature wherein said inductor winding exhibits superconducting properties, and
• input/output means for supplying power to said circuit and receiving power from said circuit,
• said circuit providing at least one hundred watts of power.

A high performance circuit comprising:

• a plurality of circuit elements in a circuit configuration, said circuit elements including at least one inductor winding composed of a high temperature superconducting material and a capacitor constructed at least in part of materials exhibiting low dielectric losses and high power densities at said cooling temperatures,
• means for cryogenically cooling all of said circuit elements to a temperature wherein said inductor winding exhibits superconducting properties, and
• input/output means for supplying power to said circuit and receiving power from said circuit,
• said circuit providing at least one hundred watts of power.

A high performance circuit comprising:

• a plurality of circuit elements in a circuit configuration, said circuit elements including at least one inductor winding composed of a high temperature superconducting material,
• switching means for operating at a frequency greater than 500,000 Hertz,
• means for cryogenically cooling all of said circuit elements to a temperature wherein said inductor winding exhibits superconducting properties, and
• input/output means for supplying power to said circuit and receiving power from said circuit.

A method for delivering greater than 100 watts of output power comprising the steps of:

• connecting an inductor winding composed of a superconducting material in a circuit configuration with other circuit components,
• cryogenically cooling portions of said circuit configuration to a temperature at which said inductor winding exhibits superconductivity,
• supplying an input power to said circuit configuration for generating said output power,
• chopping said input power at a frequency in excess of 500,000 Hertz, and
• driving an output load of greater than 5,000 watts.